Read Online Reaching First by Mindy Klasky - Free Book Online Page A

his kids.
    But that feeling of belonging didn’t keep him from reaching out for Emily after Monday’s game. He called and let the phone ring four times before it slipped over to voicemail. Just to be certain, he dialed again, but she didn’t pick up.
    He couldn’t be certain, of course, but he could picture her sitting in her office. She had a pen in one hand and was tapping it against her bottom lip. She was staring at the phone, that tiny smile firming up her lips as she shook her head and arched her eyebrows.
    She was doing what was right. What was proper. And damn, if that didn’t drive him totally batshit. He shuffled off to the showers, then took a cab back to the hotel. The guys were already hanging out in the bar. He considered it a victory that he settled for two beers and didn’t call her again.
    But he tried again on Tuesday. And on Wednesday, he refused to give up. Every fifteen minutes, he hit the redial button, determined to talk to her, even if he had to wake her out of a deep sleep.
    She answered on the fifth try. “I shouldn’t be doing this,” she said.
    His throat went dry as cotton. This was worse than asking some cheerleader to the high-school prom. This was as bad as being asked to read out loud in class, before he’d found a way to ditch the classes that would put him on the spot, before his teachers had decided to just let him go.
    He cleared his throat and said, “I thought you were avoiding me.”
    She hesitated, for long enough that he thought the call might have been disconnected. “I was,” she said at last. “But I’m not now.”
    “Good.” He closed his eyes, and he could picture her, sitting across the table from him at Artie’s. He could hear her laughing at one of his stories, felt his easy relaxation as he’d responded to one of hers.
    There were a dozen things he wanted to ask her. What was she wearing? Had she dreamed about him, the way he’d dreamed about her? Did the fact that they were talking turn her on, make her feel like—
    She’d never pick up the phone again if he said any of those things. So he settled for, “How’d the meeting go with what’s-his-name? Aunt Minnie’s bulldog?”
    “Oh!” He’d surprised her. And he discovered that her little gasp of astonishment was almost as fulfilling as all the other sounds he wanted to coax out of her. “You remembered!”
    Who was he kidding? Surprising her wasn’t one hundredth of what he wanted to do with her. Or rather, it was everything he wanted to do with her—but not by asking about her crazy aunt’s will.
    “Mr. Samson was pleased with the progress we’ve made. All of the demo is done.”
    “Listen to you,” he said, laughing. “You sound like a pro.”
    He could picture her proud smile as she said, “I drew up a schedule. Showed him how everything can get done on time, with you helping out. He signed off on that. And I think he was actually impressed by my flyers.”
    “Who wouldn’t be impressed by your flyers?” It was a stupid thing to say. A ridiculous joke. But he heard her amused laugh, and he was pretty sure she was blushing.
    Nevertheless, she stuck to business when she replied, saying something about the publicity she was planning, about ads she was placing in the local newspaper. After meeting with what’s-his-name, she’d met with her accountant. She had another meeting with one of the bigwigs at the university tomorrow.
    “I’m sorry,” she said. “I must be boring you to tears.”
    “Never,” he said, and he was surprised to realize he meant it. “I can’t believe how much you’ve done in such a short time. You’re good at this.”
    “I’m not,” she protested. “I’m only doing this because they fired me from my last job.”
    He heard the bitterness in her voice, practically felt her wince. “You were laid off. You didn’t do anything wrong.”
    “I know they say that whenever people are laid off. But no one else was let go in the rest of the office. They